Pick Up Where You Left Off

Old interests can make room for new possibilities.Eugene Mymrin / GettyThis is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.Think about something that you loved doing when you were younger. Maybe you drew, played an instrument, wrote stories, or spent hours learning about something just because it fascinated you. Then school got busier, work took over, or the hobby started to feel less useful than everything else that was competing for your time.In 2023, David Brooks wrote an Atlantic article about people entering a new stage of life after their primary career. Many realized that, on the way up the professional ladder, they had abandoned interests and ambitions that had once mattered to them. In their 60s, they began picking up those lost strands. “The human hunger for meaning and fulfillment is strong,” Brooks wrote. “We shouldn’t have to wait until we’re 65 to learn how to transform our lives.”Returning to an old interest can remind you what it feels like to do something without needing it to lead anywhere. The point is not to re-create your childhood but to make room for interests that don’t fit neatly into the life you’ve already built.This weekend, return to something that you had quietly stopped doing. Pick up the book, racket, paintbrush, or instrument. You may find that you’ve indeed outgrown it—or wonder why you ever put it down.On Returning to What You LoveThe New Old AgeBy David BrooksWhat a new life stage can teach the rest of us about how to find meaning and purpose—before it’s too late (From 2023)Read the article.How to Be Happy Growing OlderBy Arthur C. BrooksYour future will probably be better than your past. (From 2023)Read the article.The Curious Personality Changes of Older AgeBy Faith HillWhen people lose the ability to control their circumstances, their selves sometimes evolve instead. (From 2023)Read the article.Still Curious?What I wish I’d known when I was younger: Last year, Arthur C. Brooks argued that the three reasons old people are happier can work for any age. Semi-retirees know the key to work-life balance: More and more older adults are working—in large part because they want to, Kate Cray wrote in 2023.Other DiversionsPSCourtesy of Dennis L.My colleague Isabel Fattal recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. “The bristlecone; awe on a multi-millennial scale,” Dennis L. writes.We’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks. Reply to this email with a photo and a short description.— Rafaela